Alex Patrick Fairclough

Alex Patrick Fairclough, a 25-year-old IT consultant, was convicted of serious child pornography offences that led to his imprisonment and subsequent eviction proceedings. Working at Purbeck School in Wareham, Fairclough was arrested after authorities discovered several hundred indecent photographs of children on his home PC. The images, some described as the 'worst type imaginable', resulted in him admitting to 19 counts of making or possessing such material.

In March 2006, Fairclough was sentenced to one year in prison at a local court, as reported in a Dorset Echo article. The offences spanned from May 2001 to May 2004, during which time he resided at a property in Banks Cottages, Studland, near Swanage. Following his release, Fairclough's tenancy was transferred to another house in the same area in January 2005. However, when Raglan Housing Association learned of his convictions through a newspaper report, they initiated court action to evict him, citing concerns over resident safety and quality of life.

The initial eviction hearing took place at Southampton County Court, where Judge Burford QC granted an immediate possession order in favour of the housing association. Fairclough challenged this decision in the Court of Appeal in London, arguing that the offences predated his current tenancy and that his behaviour had not caused complaints from neighbours. His barrister, Richard Egleton, described Fairclough as a 'modern-day pariah' but contended that 'paedophiles have to be housed somewhere' and that the property was ideal, with no opposition from those potentially affected.

Dismissing the appeal on 1st November 2007, Lord Justice Moore-Bick, sitting with Lord Justice Chadwick and Lord Justice May, ruled that the timing of the crimes relative to the tenancy transfer was irrelevant. The judge emphasised that housing laws protect neighbours from tenants whose past conduct indicates they could be a 'serious nuisance', drawing parallels to other crimes like burglary or drug dealing. 'To put it bluntly, why should a tenant who was the mystery burglar responsible for thefts from houses in the area before he obtained a tenancy not be at risk of eviction when his identity is discovered and conviction follows?' Moore-Bick stated, affirming that Fairclough's crimes threatened residents' quality of life.

This case, reported by the Dorset Echo on 2nd November 2007, highlighted novel legal issues surrounding the eviction of convicted sex offenders from social housing. Dorset Police were involved in the initial investigation, though specific details of the arrest were not elaborated in court proceedings.